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Greek cynics.
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ing away his bowl on seeing a child take his food on a hollow pieceof bread (D. L. 6, 37).
A
story of
Diogenes represents him as;
carrying a lighted lantern (D. L. 6, 41)
but this
is is
inconsistent
with the Cynic principle of simplicity, for a lantern
an unneces-
.
16sary
Greek Cynicismandartificial
product of
civilization.
This principle explains
the Cynic repudiation of civilization.
The
Cynics did not express any sympathy for the poor for,
in their opinion, the
freedom and
virtue.
poor possessed the conditions of happiness, Neither were they friends, advocates and
defenders of the poor, as they have sometimes been said to be.
was an encumbrance and a disadthem to ignore the property rights of other men and explains their thievery. One of the best known traditions of the Cynics was the following, which was attributed to Diogenes: " All things belong to the gods the gods are friends of the wise and friends share allpossession of property
The
vantage.
The
Cynic's repudiation of possessions led
;
property in
common;6, 11,
therefore
all
things are the property of the
wise " (D. L.
37
&
72; 26th
&
27th Letters of Crates; 10th
Letter of Diogenes).
The
Cynics interpreted this to
mean
that
they were free to take anything they wanted and could lay their
hands on. Julian says that the Cynics disregard " the law that bids us keep our hands altogether and utterly from the propertyof others " and he compares them with bandits and pirates (7, 209-210). " When some one asked that he might have back hiscloak,if it'
If
it
was aI
gift,'
replied Diogenes,it
'
I.
was a
loan,
am
using
"'
(D. L.
6,
62)
possess it; while " He (Diogenes)
was astonished
that
when
slaves
gluttons, they did not steal " And he (Diogenes) saw
some no impropriety
that their masters were of the viands " (D. L. 6, 28).in stealing anything
saw
from a temple" (D. L. 6, 73). Lucian called the Cynics "cats for thievery (The Fisher) The Cynics claimed Hercules as a model (D. L. 6, 71; Lucian, Vitarum Auctio 10; Julian 6, 187) and they were probably acquainted with the story that Hercules took the oxen of Geryon without paying for them, by natural right, because he was the stronger (Plato, Gorgias 484 B) The Cynics held that laws were made by men no wiser than themselves and that customs and conventionalities differed in different countries and consequently had no validity. Their quest of freedom led them to disregard both; it also led them to disregard public opinion, reputation, honor and dishonor. Crates was represented as writing: " If you are good you do not grieve over''.
Greek Cynicismevil things
17isis
slave to
which are said for this good and evil reputation, and this.. .
all
opinion, to be a.. .
in
shadows
Tryare
therefore to despise these things " (16th Letter), also: "
We
already free from riches but love of honor does not yet free us
from
slavery, although,it.
by Hercules!
we
are doing everything to
from this also " (8th Letter) Teles wrote that honor and dishonor were equal (Teletis Reliquiae p. 11). Crates was said to have declared "Disrepute and poverty to be his country" (D. L. 6, 93). Diogenes was represented as urging a victor in the Olympic games to " Seek things that are really fine and learn to be strong, not by being beaten but with the soul through poverty, disrepute, low birth or exile" (31st Letter). Disrepute was listed by Dio Chrysostom as one of the hardships incident to the Cynic formbe released from.
I
will free myself
.
.
.
of life (8, 16
&
28).(o.So|ia)
Disregard of honor and reputation
was developed(avcu'Seia).
into
open defiance of public opinion by shamelessness
was
illustrated
This by the story of the " dog wedding " of Crates
(Apuleius, Florida 14; Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata 4, 19;Tatian, Address to the Greeks 3).to
"It was his (Diogenes) habit
do everything in public, the works of Demeter and of Aphrodite Behaving indecently in public, he wished it were as easy to banish hunger by rubbing the belly " (D. L. 6,69). Epictetus says: " He ought not to wish to hide anything that he does, and if he does, he is gone, he has lost the character of a Cynic, of a man who lives under the open sky, of a free man " (3, 22, " The cities of Greece were averse to p. 250 Bohn). Julian said the excessive plainness and simplicity of the Cynic freedom ofalike.
.
.
manner
"
(6,
185 C)
.
Lucian represents a Cynic as saying: "
Away
with modesty, good nature and forbearance. your cheek forever.
Wipe
the blush from
.
.
Scruple not to perform the deeds of
Select your love adventures with a view to public entertainment " (Vitarum Auctio 10). Dio Chrysostom described Diogenes as terminating a discourse by squatting down and evacuating his bowels in the presence of his hearers(8, 36). at tables
darkness in broad daylight.
Epictatus said: "
The
present Cynics are dogs that waitold, except per-
and
in
no respect imitate the Cynics of
2
.
18
Greek Cynicism(3, 22,
chance in breaking wind but in nothing else "
80). This
seems to have been a Cynic
characteristic.staff
Julian describes Diofor breaking
genes as striking a youth with his
public and thus infringing on a Cynic prerogative (6, This tradition may have originated in a story of Crates giving.
wind in 197 C)
have come from an essay entitledgenes (D. L.6,
instruction in this subject (D. L. 6, 94; Cf. D. L. 7, 3) Or it may " Pordalus," attributed to Dio-
20
& 80)
which probably related
to
it.
The Cynic
displayed his hardihood, his apathy, his courage and his freedom
by affronting and shocking public opinion.
The
Cynics scoffed at the customs and conventionalities of
others, but
were
rigid in observance of their
own.
The Cynic
would not appear anywhere without his wallet, staff and cloak, which must invariably be worn, dirty and ragged and worn so as to leave the right shoulder bare. He never wore shoes and his hair and beard were long and unkempt. Horace says that the Cynic, " Will shun the cloak wrought at Miletus with a greater aversion than dog or viper; he will die of cold unless you restore him hisragged garment " (Epistles1,
17).
The
progenitors of Cynicism were educated men, but Cynic
apathy and idleness led to neglect of education and then ignorance became elevated to the rank of a Cynic virtue. " Diogenes, beinjg; asked who were the noblest men, said, Those despising wealth, learning, pleasure and life, esteeming above them poverty, ignorance, hardship and death " (Stobaeus, Flor. 3, 89, 4). " He' '
(Diogenes) held that we should neglect music, geometry, astronomy and the like studies as useless and unnecessary " (D. L. " They (Cynics) also dispense with the ordinary subjects 6, 73). of instruction. At least Antisthenes used to say that those who had attained discretion had better not study reading and writing, lest they should be perverted by alien influences. So they get rid of geometry and music and all such studies " (D. L. 6, 103). Diogenes was represented as speaking scornfully of grammarians, musicians and mathematicians" (D. L. 6, 27-28). Bion is said to have "made sport of music and geometry" (D. L. 4, 53).
The wordits
" music," as
used above, probably includes poetry inat
meaning. "
He
(Diogenes) was great
pouring scorn on his
Greek Cynicismlectures a waste of time "sophists,
19
contemporaries; the school of Euclides he called bilious and Plato's
(D. L.
6,
24)
.
"It was against the"
who wanted6,
to be
looked up to and thought they knew
more than other men,(Dio Chrysostom
that he (Diogenes) railed in particular.
...
all
21) " The most ignorant of the rhetoricians rush into Cynicism. They adopt the staff, the long hair,
the ignorance that goes with these, the impudence, the insolence
and every thing of the sort " (Julian 7, 225) Although the Cynics repudiated learning, they claimed to possess wisdom; for, did they not know the road to happiness? " To the
man who
said to
him (Diogenes), 'Youis
don't'
know'
anything,
although you are a philosopher,' he replied,a pretender to wisdom, that in itself
Even
if I
am
but6,
philosophy'
(D. L.
64)
.
This seems to be an admission that the Cynic claim to possess
wisdom was not based on learning. The Cynics asserted their superior wisdom by criticising and denouncing other men. Epictetus describes the ordinary conduct of a Cynic of his time as fol-
lows; "
I
will take a little
bag and aI
begin to beg and to abuse thosedressed his hair or
whom I meet
plucking the hair out of his body,if
go about and any man will rebuke him, or if he hasstaffI
and;
will
and
if I see
he walks about
in purple " (22, 10)if
".
They
one of them grows a long beard and elevates his eyebrows and throws his cloak over his shoulder, and goes barefooted, he claims straightway wisdom and courage and virtue, and gives himself great airs, though he may(Cynics) are full of empty boasting and
not
know
his letters, nor, as the saying goes,
how
to
swim. They
despise everyone, and call the
man
of good family effeminate,a debauchee, the"
the low born poor spirited, the
handsome man
ugly person simple minded, the rich covetous and the poor greedywrote: "
(Dio Cassius, Historia Romanorum 65, 13). Lucian As I came to Elis, in going up by way of the gymnasium, I overheard a Cynic bawling out the usual street corner invocation to Virtue in a loud harsh voice and abusing every one withoutsoon asexception" (Peregrinus 3). The Cynics claimed that, as wise men, they formed a class
having special privileges; among these privileges was the right tocollect contributions
from every one, the
right to be supported by
20
Greek Cynicism"
the community and the right to express themselves fully to every
one
in the world,
Being asked what was the most beautiful thing he (Diogenes) replied, Freedom of speech (D. L. 6, 69). "See what Diogenes himself says and writes; Diogenes, it is in your power to speak both with the king of the Persians and with Archidamus, the king of the Lacedaemoniansat all times.'
'
'
as
you please'is
'
(Epictetus 4,
1,
156).
speech"
illustrated
by a story which Lucianat
The Cynic freedom of tells of Demonax:
His remark to the proconsul was
once clever and cutting. This
man was onelegs
of the sort that use pitch to remove hair from their
a Cynic mounted a stone and him of effeminacy, he was angry, had the fellow hauled down and was on the point of confining him in the stocks or even sentencing him to exile. But Demonax, who was passing by, begged him to pardon the man for making bold to speak his mind in the traditional Cynic way. The proconsul said, Well I will let him off for you this time, but if he ever dares to do such a thing again, what shall be done to him ? Have him depilated said Demonax " (Demonax 50) Lucian says of Cynics; " They spoil the wine with unwelcome and untimely disquisitions "
and whole bodies.this,
When
charged him with
accusing
'
'
'
'
.
(The Fisher). Seneca says: " One must not talk to a man unless he is willing to listen. That is why it is often doubted whether Diogenes and the other Cynics, who employed an undiscriminating freedom of speech, ought to have pursued such a plan " (Epist. Mor. 19, 1). The Cynics did not claim freedom of speech as a right common to all men, but as a special privilege belonging to them as members of a social class, ranking above kings andemperors.
The Cynic freedomlanguage used.
of speech extended to the character of the
Philodemus says of Cynics; "It pleases these dreadful men to adopt the life of dogs and they make open and unrestrained use of all kinds of words " (On the Stoics). Cicero,the Cynics, or the Stoics,
writing at or near the same time, says: " Neither are
who
are next to the
we to regard Cynics, who abuse..
deeming things that are not shameful in their own nature to become vicious through names and expressions A great many arguments to the same purpose are maintained byandridicule us for.
Greek Cynicismthese philosophers in the subversion of delicacy "
21
(De
Ofnciis 1,
35).
The7,
early Stoics
had much
in
common with
the Cynics and
Chrysippus was said to have used foul language in his writings
(D. L.
188).
The
tragedies attributed to Diogenes were said to
have been written in foul languageStromata"*
2,
20; Julian
7,
210; D. L.
6,
73
(Clemens Alexandrinus, & 80; Apuleius, Apo-
logia 9; Plutarch, Concerning Hearing).
claim to wisdom raised a question as to how they Dio Chrysostom says that the wise man is " noble by nature" and "does not have to learn" (4, 29-33). Julian said that Cynicism, being a natural philosophy, " demands no special study whatever" (6, 187). Plutarch says: "The wise man, in a moment of time, changes from the lowest possible depravity to an unsurpassable state of virtue The man who was the very worst in the morning becomes the very best at evening He " who was a worthless dolt when he fell asleep awakes wise
The Cynicit.
attained
.
.
.
.
.
.
(Progress in Virtue 75)
.
Plutarch ascribes this theory to the Stoics
and he
is
opposing
it,
but he must have been referring to Cynics,Stoics, the
for the Stoics did not class any one as wise, except Socrates and
Antisthenes.
For the
wise
man was
an
ideal,
Wisdom
was a goal which they might seek but could not attain. Extreme freedom of speech and foul language seem to have been employed by the Cynics with the object of impressing other men with a consciousness of their hardihood and apathy, and this
may6,
explain their expressions of approval of cannibalism (D. L.
73; 28th Letter of Diogenes;
Dio Chrysostom
8,
14).
Canni-
balism was said to have been approved of by the Republic andthe Thyestes (or Atreus) tragedy attributed to Diogenes (Philo-
demus,
On
the Stoics).
Chrysippus, also, was said to have ex7,
pressed approval of cannibalism (D. L.
121
&
188).
ThereAutoly-
were
also accusations that the Cynics actually practiced cannibalism
(Philodemus,
On
the Stoics; Theophilus Antiochenus,
Ad
cum 3, The
5) but these stories were probably due to prejudice. Cynics showed their apathy also in their attitude toward"
death and suicide.
Diogenes somewhere says that thereis
is
only1,
one way to freedom and that29).It is
to die content "
(Epictetus 4,
only in death that a
man
can attain complete apathy.
22
Greek Cynicism
" Diogenes, being asked
who were
the noblest men, said,
'
Those
despising wealth, learning, pleasure and life; esteeming above
them poverty, ignorance, hardship and death3, 86,
'
" (Stobaeus, Flor.
3, 89, 4). An empty, idle and aimless life leads boredom and misery; the Cynics may have shown some acknowledgment of this is their mention of suicide as " the open door." Teles says; " A man can readily find release, for just as he leaves an assembly, so he can take his departure from life as Bion says to go out-doors Just as I depart from a banquet, so I will depart from life ... I am not overly fond of life and I do not desire to prolong it, but as I am unable to find happi-
19; Ibid.
to nothing but
'
.
.
.
ness, I will depart "
(Teletis Reliq. p. 16) Athenaeus quoted Antisthenes as saying, " Deliver your selves from life " (4, 157b).
Some of
him as committing suicide (D. L. 6, 76 & 77; Lucian, Dialogi Mortuorum 2). Diogenes was said to have advised Speusippus to committhe stories of the death of Diogenes representedsuicide (D. L. 4,1,
3) and also Antisthenes (D. L.
6,
18).rear-
The
Cynics, in seeking freedom, rejected marriage
and the
ing of children, repudiated obligations to parents and the state
and avoided"self
friendships.
Lucian represents a Cynic as saying:
With wife and.
children and country you will not concern your-
.
.
You
will live alone in the midst of the city, holding
communion with no one, admitting neither friend nor guest, for such would undermine your power" (Vitarum Auctio 10). " They (Cynics) consider friends as insincere and faithless, consequently they trust no one" (Philodemus, On the Stoics). Tertullian represents a Cynic as saying: " I
have withdrawn from the.
populace.
My only businessis
is
with myself
.
.
None
is
born for
another, being destined to die for himself "
(De
Pallio 5).
A
discrepancy
noted in the Cynic expressions in regard to
pleasure. Crates held that pleasure seeking
was a form of slavery and should be avoided. The Cynics retained this idea as a theoryit
but did not always carryas saying; "state of
into practice. Lucian represents a Cynic
My
cloak
warfare and
Lucian says also;
is my lion's skin. Like_Hercules I live in a my enemy is pleasure " (Vitarum Auctio 10) "To hear them, you would say that they
(Cynics) were at war with pleasure, and Epicurus their bitterest
Greek Cynicismdo but for pleasure's sake Dio Chrysostom represents Diogenes as ways 19).foe; but nothing do they"
23
(The Runa-
saying:. . .
"Thegrap-
noble
man
holds his hardships to be great antagonists
pling with hunger and cold, withstanding thirst and disclosing no
weakness, even though he must endure the lash or give his body
burned But there is another battle more terrible and fraught with greater danger. I mean the fight against pleasure " (8, 20). Also, he says: " Many and mighty antagonists have I vanquished ... I mean poverty, exile and disrepute, yes, anger, desire, fear and the most redoubtable beast of all, treachto be cut or. . . .
.
.
erous and cowardly.in the Cynic
pleasure " (9, 12). But the idea gained prevalence that pleasures were to be foundI
mean
form of life and this probably facilitated acquiring Dio Chrysostom expresses this view with equal enthuHe (Diogenes) got more pleasure, too, out of sunning himself- and more pleasure in eating his food than (the rich) didv But the seasons were his greatest delight Arid sq he -used toconverts. siasm: ".
.
.
partake of a barley cake with greater pleasure than others did of
from a stream more than "This very man (Diogenes) used to maintain how much he surpassed the Persian king in his manner of life and fortune, for he himself was in want of nothing, while the other never had enough, and that he had no inclination for those pleasures of which the other could never get enough to satisfy himself, and that the other could never obtainthe costliest foods and enjoyed a drinkothers did their Thasian
wine"
(6,
8-12).
his"
(Cicero,
Tusc.
Disp.
5,
32).
Maximus
Tyrius
wrote:if
virtue ware jar. accompanied him why should pleasure be excluded? Diogenes enjoyed life in his jar as Xerxes enjoyed Babylon ... If you compare pleasures with pleasures, those of Diogenes are greater. The lives of others were filled with pleasures, but were everywhere mingled with grief. But the pleasures of Diogenes were free
" Pleasure led
Diogenes into
his earthen
And
from lamentations, wailing, tears or grief ... I will make bold to say that no one was ever more truly a lover of pleasure than Diogenes " (3, 9). The Cynics did not deny the existence of the gods; neither didthey affirm any belief in their existence or express any reverence
24for them.
Greek CynicismThey wereskeptics or agnostics."
Diogenes the Cynic used to say of Harpalus, one of the most fortunate villains of histime, that the constant prosperity of such a
witness against the"
gods"
(Cicero,
man was a De Natura Deorum
kind of3,
34).
Proofs are not wanting that
among
the philosophers there
was
not only ignorance but actual doubt about the divinity. Diogenes,
when asked what was'
have never been there.' Again, asked whether there were any gods, he replied, I do not know, only there ought to be gods (Tertullian, Ad Nationes 2). Diogenes was represented as writing:taking place in heaven, answered,'
I
'
'
"I
Youis
ask
me to write you what I knowit is
about death and burial
.
.
.
hold that
sufficient to live
according to virtue and nature and
that
in our power.
As the
things before birth are withheld by
nature, so the things after death
Letter)
must be trusted to it " (25th Diogenes was said to have rejected the Orphic initiation (D. L. 6, 39; Julian 7, 238; Plutarch, Moralia 2, p. 58) to have denounced certain religious practices (D. L. 6, 42-43); to have.
;
condemned17-27) and
the practice of consulting oracles (Dio Chrysostom 10,to
have seen no impropriety
in stealing anything
from
a temple (D. L.
6, 73). Julian says that Diogenes did not visit temples or worship statues or altars (6, 199). He was represented
as using temples only as dormitories (D. L. 6, 22;
Dio Chrysostom
4,13).
Theright
Cynics were not Socratics; their teaching was opposed to
that of Socrates in almost every respect.
The
distinctionIt
between
and wrong did not enter
into Cynicism.
was the problem
of the Cynic to seek happiness and freedom and the avoidance of
succession
what was wrong would restrict his freedom. The Stoics claimed from Socrates but we have no evidence that the Cynicsdidso.
Most of
the ideas of the Cynics were not
new
in
Greece but
they seem to have
made
their
appearance as a
sect in the
2nd
century B. C. Teles, writing about 240 B. C. shows no knowledge
of the existence of a Cynicschools of ethics about 200 B.1,
sect.
Hippobotus,
listing the
Greek
C,
did not include the Cynics (D. L.1st century B. C.
19).
The
earliest
mentions of them are those of Cicero and
Philodemus, written in the early part of the
Greek CynicismTheLetters of
25
Diogenes and Crates are believed to have been written at about the same time. These writings all convey the impression that the Cynics formed a numerous and well known sect. Philo Judaeus, writing about the beginning of the ChristianEra, speaks of the Cynics as
"an
incalculable
number of men
"
(Quod omnis probus liber sit). Dio Chrysostom, writing to the Alexandrians near the end of the 1st century A. D., says; " Therenumber of those who are called Cynics " 62). Lucian wrote; "The city swarms with these vermin,are in the city a greatticularly
(32,
par-
with those
who
profess the tenets of Diogenes, Antis-
thenes and Crates"
speaks of "
(The Runaways 19). Eusebius Pamphili Diogenes the Dog, who held the most brutish opinions
and was the leader of many" (Praep. Evang. 15, 13, 6). The Cynics continued to be numerous for two or three centuries. The Cynics died out and disappeared in the fifth century A. D. St. Augustine, writing in the early part of the 5th century, " It is this which those canine or Cynic philosophers says: have overlooked when they have, in violation of the modest instincts of men, boastfully proclaimed their unclean and shameless opinion, worthy indeed of dogs, viz, that as the matrimonial act is legitimate, no one should be ashamed to perform it openly, in the street or in any public place. Instinctive shame has overborne this wild fancy. For though it is related that Diogenes once dared toput his opinion in practice, under the impression that his sect
would be
all
the
more famous
if his
egregious shamelessness was
memory of mankind, yet this example was not afterwards followed. Shame had more influence with them, to make them blush before men, than error to make them affect adeeply graven in the
resemblance to dogs, and possibly, even in the case of Diogenes
and those who did imitate him, there was but an appearance and pretense of copulation and not the reality. Even at this day therearestill
Cynic philosophers to be seen; for these are Cynics
whoof.
are not content with being clad in the Cynic cloak, but also carry
a club; yet no one ofIf they did,
them dares to do this they would be spat upon, not to
that
wefrom
speak
say stoned by thethis that
mob
"
(De
Civitate Dei, 14, 20).
We
may
infer
Cynics were scarce in the time of Augustine and that they had
26
Greek Cynicism
discontinued their open defiance of public opinion for a long
John Chrysostom, a contemporary of Augustine, wrote; mere pollutions as they were, have all passed by like a dream and a shadow " (Homilies 33, 5). The Cynics had no canon or authoritative writing, such as the Epicureans had in the writings of Epicurus. They were illiterates and wrote nothing. Julian said; " If the Cynics had composed treatises with any serious purposes ... it would have been proper for my opponent to be guided by them but nothing of that sort exists " (6, 186) Our knowledge of them is derived from observers who were not Cynics; but these were not all antagoperiod. St."
The
Cynics,
.
.
.
.
nistic.
The
Stoics regarded their origin as connected
with that of
the Cynics and were inclined to take a favorable view of them.
The
Letters of
Stoics
who endeavored
Diogenes and Crates were probably written by to present Cynicism in a favorable light.
Lucian in his Cynicus, Tertullian in his
De
Pallio
and Maximus
Tyrius in his 36th Dissertation presented the Cynic point of view,traditions of
though they were not Cynics. Dio Chrysostom showed interest in Diogenes and gave considerable space to them; but heexpressed scorn for the Cynics of his time, as Epictetus and Julianalso did.
Epictetus and Julian believed that earlier Cynics were
superior and must have
had a
different philosophy; they exerted
their imaginations to supply this philosophy.partially explained
Their belief
by the fact that the earlierCynics.
may be men whom they
had
in
mind were nottraditions
Cynicism was a philosophy which
took form after their time.
The Cynic
were oral and consisted for the most partlittle
of stories of Diogenes, a semi-mythical character; since
was
known about him, he wasthere were a vast
a convenient vehicle on which the CynicsItis
could locate stories expressing their ideas.
believed that
number of these stories and that only a small proportion of them has been preserved. Some of these stories express ideas incompatible with Cynicism and show that nonCynics sometimes took a hand in producing Diogenes stories.Zeller says: "
With
the decline of political independence the
mental powers of the nation (Greece) received a fatal blow. longer knit together by a powerful esprit de corps, the Greeks
Nolost
Greek Cynicismthe habit of working for the
27
gave themselves up to the
common weal and for the most part petty interests of home life and their
ownThe
personal troubles " (Stoics, Epicureans and Skeptics p. 16). loss of independent sovereignty by the Greek states, first to
the Macedonians and later to the Romans,
was followed by a
period of intellectual, cultural and spiritual degeneration.practice
The
became general of exposing children and not rearing any descendants, or, at most, only one son. Cynicism was a product of
this period.
The
Cynics attacked and ridiculed religion, philosophy, science;friendship,
art, literature, love,
good manners,
loyalty to parents
and the
state
and even
athletics,
everything
which tended to
human life, to give it significance and make it worth living. The callous amoralism expressed by the word " cynicism " reflects the impression made by them upon theirembellish and enrichcontemporaries.\
The
Cynics did
much
to prepare the
way
for Christianity by
destroying respect for existing religions, by ignoring distinctions
of race and nationality and by instituting an order of wanderingpreachers claiming exceptional freedom of speech. Tertullian saysthat early Christian preachers adopted the Cynic cloak
(De
Pallio
6), and Augustine mentioned the club or staff as the only distinctive feature of the Cynics (De Civitate Dei 14, 20). Julian mentioned the similarity of methods of the Cynics and the Christians in their public discourses and their collections of contributions Lucian describes cooperation between Cynics and Chris(7, 224) tians (Peregrinus) The early Christians worked side by side with Cynics for three hundred years and were to some extent influenced by them. We do not know of any early Christian arts, music,.
.
literature or sciences. Early Christian orders of priesthood accepted
celibacy
and poverty as virtues. The Dominicans explained their designation by saying that they were " Domini canes " (dogs of
the Lord).
THE SOURCES OF CYNICISMJulian says of Cynicism: "to
Nowit
the founder of this philosophy
whom we
are to attribute
in the first instance is not easy totitle
discover even though
some think the'
belongs to Antisthenes
and Diogenes. At least the saying of Oenomaus seems to be not without good grounds, The Cynic philosophy is neither Antisthenean nor Diogenean (6, 187). Julian agreed with Oenomaus that neither Antisthenes nor Diogenes were the founders of Cynicism. Oenomaus was a Greek writer of the 2nd century A. D. He wrote a treatise " On Cynicism " and another " On Crates and Diogenes." He seems to have been the leading authority on Cynicism in the time of Julian. Both he and Julian possessed better means of information than we have and their opinions onthis subject are
probably well founded.
The
19th Letter of Crates
is addressed to a Cynic who claimed that the Cynic sect was founded by Ulysses; the Letter argues that Diogenes and not Ulysses should be regarded as its founder. This Letter indicates that in the 1st century B. C. there was no definite and generally
understood information in regard toCynicism."'
its
founding.
Hercules also was sometimes spoken of as the founder of
am the first discoverer of the Cynic rule.' How can that be? Men say Alcides (Hercules) long preceded thee.' Once I was second with Alcides for my master; now I am the firstI' '
Cynic and he a godmaster in virtue
"'
(Ausonius, Epigram 46, written under a"
portrait of Antisthenes).
None hadlore.
a better pupil or a betterthatI
and the Cynic47,
He knows
speak truth
who knows
each of the two. Alcides the god and Diogenes the
Dog"
(Ibid.
Epigram
on the same). There seemsearlier origin
to
haveit
been a tendency to ascribe to Cynicism anactually possessed.
than
(Cf. Julian 6, 187; 7thIbid.
&
26th Letters of
Diogenes; Lucian, Vitarum Auctio 10;6,
Peregrinus; D. L.
71).
Teles narrated some stories of Diogenes, but
it is
clear that
he
28
ADDENDAAddto p.
28:
Thetells
ancient Greeks generally accepted the theory of degener-
we are inferior to our ancestors. Homer who " lifted up a stone, a mighty weight, which no two men, as men are now, could raise, yet easily he wielded it." (Iliad, Book XX, 358). Plato says that animals are probably the descendants of degenerate men (Timaeus 91-92) Thisation, a belief that
of a hero
.
is
the
modern theory of evolutiontheir
in reverse.
The Cynics madesect
appearance as a sect in the second
century B.C. Their late appearance was a disadvantage for the
was founded by recent and consequently inferior men. This them to silence in regard to their real founders and to claim ancient heroes as their progenitors. Since Diogenes had become a hero he also was accepted by some as a founder. The claim that Antisthenes was the founder of Cynicism was Stoic and was not generally accepted by Cynics.led
The Sources of Cynicismdid not regard
29
founder or teacher of any definite philosophy. His authorities are Bion and Crates; he does not mentionas a
him
Antisthenes and this indicates that Antisthenes was not connected
with Cynicism.
In the time of Antisthenes and Diogenes thestate
Greeks were loyal to their
governments; a group openly
advocating disregard of state laws would not have been tolerated.
Some
of the ideas of the Cynics appeared in Greek literature at
an early period.
Lucian says that
"mob
orator of the Cynic type"
Demonax (Demonaxafter death
called Thersites a
61).
Indifference
as to the disposition of the
body
was expressed by
Heraclitus (Frag. 85), a trait afterwards attributed to Diogenes.
Xenophanes expressed disapproval of mythology and excessive interest in athletic contests, as the Cynics did later. Hesiod commended the simple and natural lives of the early races (Works and Days). Anti-intellectualism was common in Greece and is depicted in the character of Anytus in the Meno of Plato and inStrepsiades in the Clouds of Aristophanes.
The immediateitinerant
predecessors of the Cynics were the mendicant2,
Orphic teachers (Plato, Republic
264)
.
As thelife
influ-
ence of Orphism waned, the teachers of a happy futurereplaced by philosopherspresentlife.
were
who
taught a
way
to happiness in the
There were also the mendicant priests of Cybele, mentioned in the 11th Letter of Diogenes as rivals of the Cynics. We learn from Isocrates, a contemporary of Plato, that there were in Athens sophists who resembled the later Cynics. He says: " The teachers who do not scruple to vaunt their powers with utter disregard of the truth have created the impression that those
whothose
choose a
life
of careless indifference are better advised than
who
devote themselves to serious study
say that they do not
Although they want money and speak contemptuously of. . .
wealth as
filthy lucre, they hold their hands out for a trifling gain and make their disciples all but immortal " (Against the Sophists 14) These sophists were teaching idleness, poverty and probably.
anti-intellectualism.
Plato represented Hippias as saying: " All of youpresentI
wholike,
are here
reckon to be kinsmen and friends and fellow-citizens, byis
nature and not by law, for by nature like
akin to
whereas
30
The Sources of Cynicismis
law
the tyrant of
mankind and often compels usand oppositionto
to
do many
things which
are against nature "
(Protagoras 337).
Here we
find " follow nature "
man madeThe
law.
In the comedy of Aristophanes entitled "
Clouds," he introin-
duces an Athenian, Strepsiades,structed by a sophist
whois
has his son, Phidippides,
and the
result
unsatisfactory to Strepsiades,
for he
is
beaten by his educated son.
" Strepsiades.
But the law nowhere admits that fathers should
be treated thus.Phidippides.like
Was
not the legislator
who
carried this
law a
man
you and?
me ? Then whynew.
should
I
not have the right to estab-
lish for the future a
law, allowing children to beat their
But look how the cocks and other animals fight with their fathers and yet what difference is there between them and ourselves, unless it be that they do not propose decrees ? Strepsiades. But if you imitate the cocks in all things, why don't " you scratch up the dunghill, why don't you sleep on a perch ?fathers. .
(Clouds 1420)
.
Here we
find an
argument which was used by thewiser than ourselves
Cynics, that since laws are
made by men no
they are not worthy of respect.
We find also the idea of followingthis
nature by imitating animals.intellectualtes, it
The tendency ofall
and
since
it
loads
the sophistries
comedy is antisatirized on Socra-
may have
prejuiced the Athenians against him.
Thucydides represented Pericles, in his funeral oration to the Athenians, as saying; " Emulate them (the dead heroes) and, esteeming courage to be freedom and freedom to be happiness, do not shrink from the dangers of war" (2, 43, 4). Here Periclesstated the fundamental theory of Cynicism
ness and that freedom can be attained by doing
Xenophon
describes Socrates as
freedom is happiaway with fear. taking Aristippus to task onthatI
account of his habits and Aristippus as replying: "
do not for a
moment put myself in the category of those who want to be rulers. For, considering how hard a matter it is to provide for one's ownneeds,I
think
it
absurd not to be content to do that, but to shoulder. .
the burden of supplying the wants of the community as well
.
Myself I classify with those who wish for a life of the greatest ease and pleasure that can be had ... I am no candidate for
The Sources of Cynicismslavery, but there
31
is, as I hold, a middle path in which I am fain That way leads neither through rule nor slavery, but through freedom, which is the best road to happiness ... I do not shut myself up in the four corners of a community, but am a stranger in every land" (Mem. Soc. 2, 1, 8-13). Here again we find the fundamental principle of Cynicism that freedom is the best road to happiness. Aristippus was said to have been an exile: " Aristippus, being reviled by some one because, being a Cyrenean, he had been banished from his country, said, Young man, my country gave me great pleasure when they sent me from Libya to Hellas " (Gnomologium Vaticanum 28) His attitude toward all governments and all countries was like that of the Cynics and his conception of freedom included freedom to roam where he pleased. Since Socrates disapproved both of his conduct and his opinions, there is no reason for regarding him as a Socratic and, since he disregarded the Socratic rule against taking fees for his teaching (D. L. 2, 65), he does not appear to have regarded himself as a Socratic. Aristotle called him a sophist and says that he scorned mathematics (Metaphysics 3, 2, 996a 33). The philosophy which he taught, Cyrenaicism, included amoralism, which was also included in Cynicism. The Cyrenaics sought an easy life and pleasure. Some of the Cynics professed to live a life of hardship and to reject pleasure but the majority of them seem to have
to walk.
'
'
.
followed the Cyrenaics in these respects.
Many
of the stories of
Aristippus were transferred to Diogenes in the development of the
Diogenes Legend (A. Packmohr,
De
Diogenis Sinopensis Apoph-
thegmatis Quaestiones Selectae), and this shows a connection
between Aristippus and the Cynics.
was not a Cynic. There was no Cynic sect in He was a well-known and respected citizen of Thebes, a religious and well educated man; he married and reared children; he approved of labor and education and did not oppose laws or governments; he did not profess to be a wise man and he devoted his time to aiding, advising and comforting other men. And yet, there are reasons for regarding him as the chief source of Cynicism. He developed the idea that happiness was to be found in freedom and that freedom could be attained through povertyCrates of Thebesexistence in his time.
32
The Sources of Cynicism
and the extinction of desires. In pursuance of this idea he abandoned a comfortable home and considerable property, migrated to Athens and took up the life of a mendicant teacher. His teaching was the foundation of both Stoicism and Cynicism, but both subsequently received accretions and underwent modifications. Crates was a pupil of Bryson the Achaean (D. L. 6, 85), whose opinions are not known to us. His poems show a knowledge of versification and his paraphrases of Homer and Solon show familiarity with Greek literature. Teles says that he was familiar with the Protreptikos of Aristotle (Teletis Reliquiae p. 46). There are several accounts of his taking up the life of a mendicant, but that of Plutarch seems to be the most credible. Plutarch wrote a biography of Crates (Julian 6, 200B) he probably consulted the;
best sources of information in regard to him.
He
says: " Crates,
the
Theban philosopher, owing nothing and consequently not being pressed by a creditor but only tired with the cares andtroubles of house-keeping and
the solicitude
requisite
to
the
management of
his estate, left a
patrimony of eight talents value
and, taking only his cloak and wallet, retired to philosophy and
poverty " (Against Running in Debt 8). Teles described
him
as
conducting a school in Athens
(Teletis Reliquiae pp. 40-41).
were Zeno (D. L. 7, 2-5), Cleanthes (Hesychius 42; Suidas, Cleanthes) and Bion of Borysthenes (D. L. 4, 23 & 51). He seems to have been widely known for Plutarch wrote; " Will you reduce a man from splendid wealth and house and table and lavish living to a thread bare cloak and wallet and begging of his daily bread? These things were the beginning of " happiness for Diogenes, of freedom and reputation for Crates (Can Vice Cause Unhappiness 499) Plutarch and Teles compare Crates and Diogenes in their way of life but do not connect them otherwise; they do not represent them as associated with one another. Crates was an original and independent philosopher, not belonging to any sect or school and there are reasons for regarding him as the father of both Stoicism and Cynicism. These two philosophies were generally believed to have had a common origin and early Stoics expressed many Cynic ideas. The dominant idea of Crates was the quest of freedom; whilehis pupils.
Among
The Sources of Cynicism
33
others believed that happiness could be found in the gratification
of desires, Crates taught that happiness could be found only inthe extinction or control of desires.
The form
of freedom which
he emphasized wasself-control.
freedom of the will gained through is explained by Epictetus (4, 1 & 7). Teles advises his reader not to have his son taught to make money, " But send him to Crates, he is able to render him free and devoid of desires and luxury." Teles mentions the Academy and the Lyceum as encouraging or permitting luxury, " But in going over to Crates there are none of these things. Having become more simple in his manner of living, he is contented with a worn cloak and barley bread and herbs, he does not yearn for his former life and is not discontented with his present one " (Teletis Reliquiae p. 40-41). Teles did not regard Crates as a Socratic; he was conducting a separate school, in some respects opposed to the Academy and Lyceum. Teles narrates: " Crates said to one asking, What benefit will it be to me to be a philosopher ? You will be able to release your possessions easily and give with a free hand ... A person not having money does notspiritual, a
This was accepted by the Stoics and
'
'
'
yearn for
it
but will live contented with present circumstances.'
'
(Stobaeus, Flor. 3, 97, 31). This idea of Crates is expressed by a saying attributed to Bion; " Good slaves are free, but evil men areslaves, desiring
many things"
(Stobaeus, Flor.
2,
39
&
69, 42).
Since BionCrates.
was
a pupil of Crates, this saying
may have come from
Crates condemned pleasure because he thought that pleasure seeking was a form of slavery. " Self-control, restraining pleasures
with definite
limits, preserves
houses and also5,
cities,
according to
the opinion of
Crates "
(Stobaeus, Flor.i.
63).
"
Shun not onlybut
the complete of the evils,also that
e.
injusticei.i.
and lack of. .
self control,.
which may cause them,
e. e.
pleasuresselfi.
only the complete of the goods," Pleasure is
and seek not control and endurance,(3rd Letter of Crates).
but also that which produces them,
e.
hardship " (15th Letter
of Crates).
not happiness
"
Theon
Letters of Crates,
traditions,
though spurious, seem to have been based for the contents of some of them can be found in
other sources. Crates wrote:
.
.
34"
The Sources of CynicismThose unenslaved and unbended by servile pleasure " Love the immortal kingdom and freedom2,
(Clemens Alex., Strom.
20,
121; Theodoretus, Theophrast,
12,172,50).
He
regarded love as a menace to freedom, from which
we
should free ourselves at any cost:"
HungerIf these
stops love, if not, time;
do not quench the flame,"
TheIs
treatment that remains for you
hanging9,
(Anthol. Palat.Julian 6,
417; D. L.
6,
86; Clemens Alex. Strom.
2,
121;
198D;
Suidas, Crates).
Crates' rejection of desires, pleasures
and love were negative, anis
expression of apathy; he might have taught his pupils to seek desirable pleasure in useful
and helpful employment. However, he
said to have approved of laborsities
whenin
requisite for obtaining neces-
(Plutarch, Against
Running
Debt
7
;
4th Letter of Crates)
We cannot regard Crates' attitude toward pleasure as original withhim, for Plato mentions a class of personscally identical
who
held views practi-
with those expressed by Crates (Philebus 44) The poems of Crates show a religious spirit; in this respect the
Stoics followed him and the Cynics did not. The Stoics rejected the Greek mythology but they believed in one God and in divine providence (Cicero, De-Natura Deorum 2). Crates wrote: "
Not one tower hath myBut wideas the
country, nor one roof,its
whole earth
citadel,
And home
prepared for us to dwell therein
"
(D.L. 6,98).This
an expression of the Cynic idea of freedom to wander from country to country, doing away with loyalty to any one state.is
Both theCrates
Stoics
and the Cynics disregarded
distinctions of race
and
nationality.is
also identified with the Cynic idea of disregard foris
public opinion; he
said to have given instruction
on
this subject
.
The Sources of Cynicismto
357,
Metrocles (D. L.is
6,
94) and also to Zeno (D. L.
3).
This
idea
expressed in the 16th Letter of Crates.Flor. 14;
The
story of the
dog wedding of Crates (Apuleius,Strom.4,
Clemens Alexandrinus,
19; Tatian, Address to the Greeks; Suidas, Crates)
maybut
have been a late invention, forit
we
find
no
early
mention of
it,
shows that Crates was associated with the idea of defiance ofCrates' disregard of public opinion7,
was rejected and by the Stoics. 3) Crates was said to have taught avoidance of politics (D. L. 2, 131) in this respect he was followed by the Cynics but not by the Stoics. The dominant idea of Crates was the quest of freedom but he realized that it was limited by his dependence upon food; it was his chief wish that he might be freed from this also. Hepublic opinion.
by Zeno (D. L.
;
wrote:"
Glorious Children of
Memory and Olympian
Zeus,
Ye Muses of Pieria, harken to my prayer. Give me without ceasing victuals for my belly, Which has always made my life frugal and free from " pleasure (Julian 6, 199 D)"
The Cynic
Crates, as Sosicrates says in his Phalerum, castigated
Demetrius of Phalerum because he had sent him a flask of wine with his wallet of bread said he Would that the springs might'
;
produce bread as well as water'
'
(Athenaeus, Deip. 10, 422;
D.L.sect.
6,
90).
Crates
was an independent
teacher, not belonging to any existing
His disregard of the
state
and of public opinion led
to
an
extreme individualism which was directly opposed to the teachingsof Plato and Aristotle. His attitude toward pleasure was opposedto
Cyrenaicism and Epicureanism and was not in accord with the
teaching of Plato and Aristotle, for they regarded pleasure as acontribution to happiness.
The
followers of Crates split into
two
which progressed by divergent paths. Those who were called Stoics absorbed a great deal of Platonism fromdifferent classes
the teaching of the earlyIbid.,
Academy7, 2
(Cicero, Tusc. Disp.
5,
12;
De
Finibus
5,
29; D. L.
&
25).
This Platonism was
the basis of their subsequent claim to be Socratics, but, in the
36
The Sources of Cynicismhostility to
meantime, they developed
the
unwilling to acknowledge their indebtedness to
Academy and were it. They invented
a story of a direct succession from Socrates through Antisthenes,
but
had been true the Cynics would have been Socratics on account of their common origin. The Cynics were not Socratics; they received influences from other sources; notably from Bion of Borysthenes. Early stories of Bion were transferred to Diogenes in the development of the Diogenes Legend (A. Packmohr) and this shows a connection between Bion and theif this
also
Cynics.
From Bion
the
Cynics
probably received amoralism,
apathy, indifference and the rejection of education and marriage,
but some of his reported sayings are incompatible with Cynicism
and he cannot be classified as a Cynic. Bion was an atheist, the Cynics were agnostics; they may have been influenced in this respect by Pyrrho or they may have followed the sophist Protagoras
who
Of the gods I can know nothing, neither that they are nor that they are not " (D. L. 9, 51; Plato,is
reported to have said; "
Theaetetus 162D).
The
sophists Critias, Polus, Callicles, Thrasy-
machus and Diagoras are said to have attacked morality and religion (Zeller, Hist. Greek Philos. 2, p. 512). The idea that poverty and plain living were commendable wasnot peculiar to the Cynics.
The
popularity of Aristides the Just
and of Phocion the Honest was to a considerable extent based on the belief that they were poor and lived plainly, and it is clear that
Xenophon regarded(Memorabilia
this as a strong point in his
defense of Socrates
The
1, 6). Cynics had a distinctive costume and equipment and our
most credible information in regard to its origin seems to be the following: " Diodorus was an Aspendian by birth, and though he was reputed to be a Pythagorean, he lived in the manner of you Cynics, wearing his hair long and going dirty and bare footed. Hence some have even thought that this habit of wearing hair was Pythagorean and was promulgated by Diodorus as Hermippus says. And Timaeus of Tauromenia, in the ninth book of his Diodorus, the Aspendian by Histories, writes about him thus,'
birth, introduced the eccentric4,
mode
of
life
'
'
(Athenaeus, Deip.
164).
Hermippus of Smyrna was a
Peripatetic
who wrote
at
.
The Sources of Cynicism
37
Alexandria about the middle of the 3rd century B. C. Timaeus of
Tauromenia flourished about 260 B. C. Also we find: " And he (Antisthenes) was the first, Diodes tells us, to double his cloak and to be content with that one garment and to take up a staff and wallet Sosicrates, however, in the third book of his Successions of Philosophers says this was first done by Diodorus of Aspendus, who also let his beard grow and used a staff and a wallet" (D. L. 6, 13 & 22). Here Diogenes Laertius discredits Diodes in favor of an earlier writer. Diodes was a writer of the first century B. C. who seems to have been one of the builders of. . .
the Diogenes Legend.tion
He
does not state the source of his informa-
and.
his statements in regard to
Diogenes and AntisthenesAntisthenes, Diogenes and
have the appearance of inventions.6,
Crates were described by the Cynics as doubling their cloaks (D. L.13; 30th Letter of Diogenes; Stobaeus, Flor.3,
97, 31; Tertuldistinctive or"
lian,
De
Pallio 5).
But there seems to be nothingStrepsiades, in Aristophanes'sees the cloudstill I
exceptional about
this.
comedystage,
Thesays;
Clouds,""
when hewait a
coming on the
Not
yet,
bit
fold
myit
cloak double so as not to getto fold the cloak
wet."
We infer from
this that
was customaryI^oltlov.
double for protection from rain and cold. The cloak which was
doubled was the ample Atheniana distinctive cloak, called Tplpav,"
But the Cynics adoptedor aroXri (Latin, pallium)
TpifiwvLov
The
Spartans wore a short mantle of coarse texture called rpi^wv
or Tpiftomov.
Those who aped Spartan customs, the AaKwn'ovTs and the philosophers of the Cynic and Stoic schools naturally adopted it also " (Becker, Charicles, p. 419; cf. Thucydides 1, 6;
Plato, Protagoras 342). The Stoics did not adopt a distinctive costume; Apuleius says; " Do you censure philosophers for their
wallet and staff
.
.
.
These, however, are not the equipment of"
the Platonic sect, but they are the insignia of the class of Cynics
(Apologia 22).
Lucian in the Hermotimus described Stoics as
from the " utter repulsive negligence of the Cynics." rptfiw means worn and the Cynic cloak is described as threadbare, ragged and dirty. It would appear that when a Cynic procured a cloak he selected one in thisdecently dressed and
groomed and
differing
condition.
The costume adopted by
the Cynics seems to have been
38that of a
The Sources of CynicismGreek beggar, for the Cynics recognized the disguise of
Ulysses on his return to Ithaca and also that of Telephus as akin to
own. But why did the Cynics adopt a distinctive costume ? It seems to have been connected with their claim of forming a distinct class of wise men having special privileges. It was this claim which put Cynicism on its feet and made the Cynics numerous and important and distinct from the Stoics. The Greeks had a love of oratory and rhetoric, the art of public speaking, was their favorite study.their
The
prospect of being privileged to deliver public discourses
probably attractedrhetoricians
many
converts.
"
The most
ignorant of the7,
...
all
rush into Cynicism" (Julian
225). Mostit is
of the ideas of Cynicism came from Greek sources butable that the idea of a separate class of wiseIt
probIndia.
men came from
was contrary to Greek traditions for any one to claim to be a wise man, as is shown by the stories of the tripod and the bowl (D. L. 1, 28-33). Pythagoras was quoted as saying, " No man iswise but
God alone " that no man was wiser
(D. L.
1.
12).
The
oracle of Delphi said
than Socrates but he disclaimed being wise.
from men and may perhaps claim to be wiser than they are; that whereas I know but little of the world below, I do not suppose that I know " (Plato, Apology 29). Socrates said of certain otherin general,
He
said; " In this respect only I believe myself to differ
teachers;
"Wise
I
may not
call
them, for that
is
a great
name
which belongs to God alone; lovers of wisdom or philosophers is their modest and befitting title" (Plato, Phaedrus 278). TheStoics discussed the conduct of
an ideal wise
man3,
but Cicero says18)
that
no
Stoic professed to be wise
(De Oratore
The Greeks werespecific services
familiar with paid teachersspecified
who performed men"
and received
compensation but, before
the appearance of the Cynics, there was no class of " wise
who
expected to be supported by the community without regard
to their services. The Cynic point of following: " Being short of money,
view is expressed by the he (Diogenes) told his
friends that he applied to them, not for alms, but forhis
payment of
due" (D.
L. 6, 46).
"He
thus; all things belong to
(Diogenes) used also to reason the gods; the wise are friends of the
.
The Sources of Cynicism
39
gods and friends hold things in common; therefore all things belong to the wise " (D. L. 6, 37 & 82; 10th Letter of Diogenes; 26th & 27th Letters of Crates)
The Cynics did not accept Platonism but were influenced by many sources which did not affect the Stoics, including Pyrrho,
Bion, Diodorus of Aspendus,
some of the Greek
sophists,
by
Indian Gymnosophists and probably others ofrecord.
whom we
have no
Diogenes was from Sinope, an ancient Milesian colony on thesouth shore of the Euxine Sea, the most prosperous of the numer-
was the terminus of a caravan route from Babylon and was situated on an ancient trade route from India. " Aristobulus says that the Oxus is the greatestIt
ous colonies established from Miletus.
of the rivers of Asia, excepting those in India.is
Heit
says that
it
navigable (both he and Eratosthenes take this from Patrocles)that
and
much
Indian merchandise
is
carried
upon
to the Caspian
Sea; thence
it is
transported to Albania and by the Cyrus Riverto the
and places beyond
Euxine Sea" (Strabo
2, 7,
3).
Strabo
commends 1, 2). Aristobulus was a companion of Alexander in his invasion ofPatrocles as especially worthy of confidence (12,India.
Eratosthenes was in charge of the Alexandrian Library in;
the 3rd century B. C.
he was a noted mathematician, astronomeras a route
and geographer. Pliny says that the Euxine Sea servedfor
commerce between India and Greece; quoting from Varro, says that Pompey, when prosecuting the war against Mithrehedates,6, 17,
discovered this ancient trade route
(Naturalia Historiae
19)
Information of
this traffic
has also been obtained from2,
ancient Indian writings (Cambridge History of India, vol.
pp.f.).
212-213;
cf.
Ancient Sinope, David
M. Robinson,
p.
137
was commerce between the Persians and the Indians; he was an Ionian Greek physician at the court ofCtesias said that there
Artaxerxes during the latter part of the 5th century B. C. (Strabo14, 656; cf.
Xenophon, Anabasis
1, 6,
27)
.
Ctesias wrote a history
of Persia and a treatise on India, a condensation of which waswritten by Photius(Ctesiae Cnidii
Operum
Reliquiae,
J.
C. F.
Baehr, p. 245).
40
The Sources of Cynicism
Diogenes was said to be the son of a money changer in Sinope, which was the most important city on the route between Greece and India and was probably a distributing point of Indian merchandise. Travelers and merchants from India probably required the services of a money changer and Diogenes may have obtained information from them in regard to Indian customs and ideas. Diogenes was believed to have brought new ideas to Greece, for this is the meaning of " changing the currency," in the sense of changing moral standards, which was attributed to him (D. L. 6, 20 & 71; Julian 6, 188). But, apart from Diogenes, the Greeks had ample information of India and the Indians at an early period. Aeschylus mentioned the people of India in The Suppliants (284-286). The Greeks were familiar with the idea that there were other civilizations older than theirs and that philosophy came to them from people whom they classed as barbarians (Quid Graeci de Origine Philosophiaea
Barbaris
Ducenda Existimaverunt,.
F.
Schaefer).
Lucian describes a personified Philosophy as saying;flight
"My. . .
first
was not
directed toward Greece"
on earth. are mine to a man (The Runaways 6). Apuleius repeats a tradition that Pythagoras visited India and obtained from the Brahmans the greater part of his philosophy (Florida 15), and what we know of Pythagoras tends to support this tradition. D. L. says of Democritus; " Some say that he associated with the Gymnosophists of India " (9, 35), and Aelian says; " Democritus went to the Chaldaeans in Babylon and to the Magi and to the sophists of theIndians, the mightest nation
went The Brahmans..
First, I
to the
Indians"
(Var. Hist. 4, 20).
Eudocia quoted Demetrius and
Antisthenes as saying that Democritus conversed withsophists in India (Violarium 419, p. 154).to
Gymno-
This probably refers
Demetrius of Magnesia and Antisthenes of Rhodes. D. L. in his discussion of the origins of Greek philosophy mentions theIndian Gymnosophists and their teachings and quotes Clitarchusas his authority (1, 6). Clitarchusis
said to have flourished about
300 B.C. (Pliny, Hist. Nat.
10, 70;
ischen Geschichte, A. Schaefer, p. 67).
Quellenkunde der GriechThe Greek god Dionysius
(Bacchus) was said to have come from India or to have visited
The Sources of CynicismIndia; he has been identified by scholars with theShiva.
41
Hindu god
Pyrrho was said to have traveled in India and to have
obtained from Indians the ideas of skepticism, suspension of
judgment and indifference (D. L. 9, 61-68) these ideas were adopted by the Cynics and they have been traced to Hindu sources;
(Brochard, Les Sceptiques Grecs, p. 71
f.).
Aristoxenus
tells
of aasksit is
conversation between Socrates and an Indian.
The Indianreplies that
what was the
subject of his teaching
and Socrates
human
life;
the Indian rejoins that
it is
impossible for any one to
understand thingssebius, Praep.
human1,
if
he
is
ignorant of divine things (Eu-
Evang.
3). Aristoxenusis
was
a disciple of Aristotle
and
his father, Spintheus,
said to have associated with Socrates.
This story indicates that Indians sometimes visited Athens. Herodotus devoted considerable space to his descriptions of India.
Megasthenes spent many years in India in the early part of the 3rd century B. C. and wrote a work called Indica which was quoted by Strabo, Arrian and Aelian. Clemens Alexandrinus says of him; " The author Megasthenes, the contemporary of SeleucusNicanor, writes as follows in the third of his books on Indianaffairs,'
All that was said about nature by the ancientsthe Indians1,
is
said also
by those philosophers beyond Greece, some things by the Brahmans
among(Strom.
and others by those called Jews
'
in Syria
15)."
Arrian says:castes.rest,
The
Indians generally are divided into seven
Those
called the wise
men
are less in
number than the
but chiefest in honor and regard.
For they are under no
necessity to
of their
work
do any bodily labor or to contribute from the results to the common store, in fact, no sort of restraint
whateveris
rests
upon
these wise
men"
(Indica
8,
11).
"There
also
among them. . .
(Indians)are
a pre-eminent class called
Gym-
nosophists
Theytrees,
men
skilled not in propagating the vine,
nor in grafting
nor in
tilling the
ground
.
.
.
They
cultivate
wisdom
.
.
.
One
relates that,
having been chosen arbitrator be-
tween two, he has allayed their quarrel, restored good will, cleared up suspicion and changed them from enemies to friends. Another that he has found out something by his own reflection or fromanother's teaching " (Apuleius, Florida 6).
We find
in these
two
42
The Sources of Cynicismmenpossessing special privi-
passages mentions of a class of wiseleges
and holding the highest social rank. This was the field which the Greek Cynics sought to occupy, but they did not gain the respect and confidence of their people as did the wise men ofIndia perhaps because they did not prepare themselves sufficiently;
for their vocation or did notservice.
make equal
efforts to
perform useful
Among
the companions of Alexander in his expedition to
who wrote a biography of Alexander. he himself was sent to converse with these Indian sophists. For Alexander had heard that these people always went naked and devoted themselves to endurance (KapTepta?) and that they were held in very great honor He found fifteen men who were in different postures, standing or sitting or lyingIndia was Onesicritus," Onesicritus says that. ..
.
.
.
and that it was very hard naked and motionless till evening to endure the sun, which was so hot at mid-day that no one else could easily endure walking on the ground with bare feet. All that he (Mandanis), the oldest and wisest of the sophists, said,. . .
according to Onesicritus, tended tothat
this, that
the best teaching
is
which removes pleasure and pain from the soul, and that grief and hardships differ, for the former is inimical to man and the latter is friendly, since man trains the body for hardship in order that his opinions may be strengthened, whereby he may put a stop to dissensions and be ready to give good advice to all, both in Mandanis inquired whether such docpublic and in private trines were taught among the Greeks; and when he (Onesicritus) answered that Pythagoras taught such doctrines and also bade people to abstain from meat, as did also Socrates and Diogenes, Mandanis replied that he regarded the Greeks as sound minded in general, but that they were wrong in one respect, in that they preferred custom to nature, for otherwise, Mandanis said, they would not be ashamed to go naked like himself and live on frugal Whenever they chance upon anyone carrying figs or fare bunches of grapes, they get fruit from that person as a free offering " (Strabo 15, 1, 63-65). Here we find a number of Cynic apathy attained through training and hardship, living ideas,. . . . . .
according to nature, disregard of customs, shamelessness and a
The Sources of Cynicismclass of wise
43
men having
the highest social rank, entitled to re-
from every one and not expected to perform any manual labor. The following seems to come from the same source as the above: " To those who were in greatest reputation among them and lived a private quiet life, he (Alexander) sent Onesicritus, one of Diogenes the Cynic's disciples, desiring them to come to him. Calanus, it is said, very arrogantly and roughly commanded him to strip himself and hear what he said naked, or otherwise he would not speak a word to him, though he came from Zeus himself. But Mandanis received him with more civility, and hearing him discourse of Socrates, Pythagoras and Diogenes, told him he thought them men of great parts, and to have erred in nothing so much as in having too great respect for the laws and customs of their country " (Plutarch, Lives, Alexander 65). Here we find agreement with Cynicism in disregard of laws and customs. It is probable that the contents of Onesicritus' Life of Alexander were widely known in Greece and may have suggested the formaceive contributions tion of a sect of wise
men
in Greece.
professed to be a disciple of Diogenes
The fact that Onesicritus may have stimulated the
growth of the Diogenes Legend.Arrian gives an account of the Gymnosophists which makes no mention of Onesicritus. He states that his chief authority was Ptolemy, a general of Alexander who afterwards became king ofEgypt, and also wrote a biography of Alexander."
Once when
he (Alexander) came to Texila and saw those of the Indian wise men who go naked, he desired very much that one of these men should join him, since he so much admired their endurance (napr** ptav). On this the oldest among these wise men, whose pupils the others were, called Dandanis, said that he would not joinAlexander and would not permit any of his school to do so. For he is said to have replied that he was just as much a son of Zeus himself as Alexander was, and that he had no need of anything from Alexander, since he was contented with what he had; heperceived, moreover, that those
who were wandering
about with
Alexander overforit,
all
those countries and seas were none the better
and that there was no end to their many wanderings. He did not then desire anything that Alexander could give him, nor
.
.
44
The Sources of Cynicism
did he fear being kept out of anything of which Alexander might
be possessed. While he lived, the land of India wasgiving to
all he needed, and when he dies, he would merely be released from an uncomfortable companion, his body " (Anabasis 7, 2, 1-4). Here we find mention of endurance, wanting nothing and an illustration of the freedom of speech claimed by the Cynics. The attitude of Dandanis toward Alexander was similar to that which Diogenes was represented as taking in the story of his meeting with Alexander (D. L. 6, 38) These wise men were probably Jains, members of an ancient Indian sect which avoided the ownership of property and did not recognize the authority of the Vedas or the existence of a god. The Jains sought by renunciation to escape transmigration. They practiced asceticism " to disengage the spirit from its phenominal environment" (Prof. P. E. Dumont, Lecture Notes). The most ascetic branch of the Jains went without clothing. Their self^ imposed hardships were paralleled by the stories of Diogenes rolling in his jar over hot sand, walking over snow with bare feet and embracing a bronze statue in cold weather (D. L. 6, 29 & 34) Crates was represented as writing. " Seek not only the complete of the goods, i. e. self control and endurance, but also that which
him
its
fruits in their seasons,
produces them,
i.
e.
hardships " (15th Letter).
Plutarch represents Alexander as motivated by a desire to carry
Greek
civilization to
Asia and as saying: ".
We
propose to
settle
the victorious Greeks in India
.
.
There by report
live a certain
people professing a rigid and austere philosophy and more frugal
than Diogenes, as going altogether naked. They have no occasionfor scrip or wallet, for they never layfresh
Virtue of Alexander).
and new food gathered from Here Plutarch associates the Gymnosophists with the Greek Cynics and credits Alexander with having knowledge of them before his expedition to India. Diogenes was represented as saying, when asked where he camefrom, "I
provisions, having always the earth " (The Fortune or
up
am
a citizen of the universe " (D. L. 6, 63), also, "is
The
only true citizenship
that in the universe " (D. L. 6, 72)
.
These
two passages are susceptible of a Buddhist interpretation, for the Buddhists taught that a man was merely a fragment of the
The Sources of Cynicismuniverse,
45Since all
without individuality or separate identity.
men were
fragments of the same universe they did not recognize
distinctions of caste, race or nationality.
These alleged sayings
of Diogenesafter histies to
may have been invented a hundred years or more time in a period when the Greeks had ample opportunithe passions,
acquaint themselves with Indian philosophies.
The Buddhists avoidedandall
grief,
and
love, hate, fear, anger
this
visible things,
money,
resembles the Cynic apathy. They held thatproperty,etc.
were
illusions.
Theythis
believed that inaction
was generally
better than action,
and
corresponds with Cynic idleness.
Buddhists and Cynics alikedesires.
sought freedom through extinction of
These
similarities
point to the probability that the teaching of the
Gautama Buddha,
Sakya Muni, foundas
its
way, in an incomplete and corrupt form, to
Greece in or about the 3rd century B. C. Buddha was represented
wearing a mean robe, the color of the ground, and as carrying
a bowl in which he received contributions of food. Buddist monks were mendicants and celibates, wore distinctive saffron robes and carried begging bowls. The Cynics were mendicants and celibates, wore distinctive cloaks and carried wallets which corresponded to the Buddhist begging bowl. The distinctive dress and equipment of both Buddhists and Cynics were due to their claim to belong to privileged classes entitled to receive contributions from every one. There are passages in Buddhist scriptures which contain thoughts akin to some of the Cynic ideas. They both emphasized the idea of freedom. " One who does no action and has no desires looks Having his understanding always on the universe as transient. ..
fixed
indifference to worldly objects, searching for his own faults, he procures the release of his self from bonds " (Anugita
upon
4,
13).
"There
is
no suffering for him who has
finished his
journey and has abandoned grief,
who has freed himself on all sides and thrown off all fetters " (Dhammapada 7, 90). " Those who have nothing and hate nothing have no fetters " (Dhamm. 16, 211). " He who is alike to friend and foe, as also to honor and dishonor, who is alike in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, who is free from attachments, to whom praise and blame are alike, who is taciturn and contented with anything whatever, who
46is is
The Sources of Cynicism
homeless anddear to
me
is of a steady mind and full of devotion, that man " (Bhagavad-gita 12, 19). " The man who is free
.
from credulity but knows the uncreated, who has cut off all ties, removed all temptations, renounced all desires, he is the greatestof
men
"
(Dhamm.
7,
97).
"is
He
indeed
I call
a
Brahman who
calls
nothing his own,
who
poor and free from love of theall
world" (Dhamm.calling nothing hisall
26, 42).
"Leaving
pleasures behind and
own, the wise man should purge himself from " Those whose minds " (Dhamm. 6, 87) are well grounded in the elements of knowledge, who without clinging to anything rejoice in freedom from attachments, whose appetites have been conquered and who are full of light, are free even in this world " (Dhamm. 6, 89). In the Sutras of Apastamba receiving gifts was enumerated as one of the six duties of a Brahman. But the Indians did not exalt ignorance as a virtue and although the Buddhists avoided concentrating affections on individuals, they taught love for all living beings and were free from the complete selfishness of the Cynics.troubles of the
mind
.
The
Cynics did not grasp the Indian philosophies in their entirety.
If there
were resemblances there were
also differences.
The
Indian
philosophers spent their time in instruction, discussions, meditation
and self-improvement; they had no time for earning a livelihood and their requests for food were understood and complied with. They accepted nothing but food and rejected money. The Cynics generally demanded money and this demand was irrational. Indian philosophers were kindly and helpful; the Cynics were abusive and unsociable. The Cynics were orators and the Indians were not. The Indian philosophers did not seek happiness or theenjoyment oflife;
they sought self-improvement, spiritual advanceto others.
ment and increased usefulness
The Indian
philosophers taught nothing which was abhorrent to
their people; the Cynics did otherwise.
The
Cynics are said to
have approved of cannibalism and Diogenes was quoted as mentioning
custom of some foreign nations " (D. L. 6, 73; cf. D. L. 7, 188; Philodemus, Concerning the Stoics; Theophilus Antiochenus, Ad Autolycum 3; Dio Chrysostom 8, 14). An answer to the question as to what foreign nations had this customit
as " the
The Sources of Cynicismmay be foundin the following." Darius
47
once sent for such of the Greeks as were dependent on his power and asked them what
reward would induce them to eat the bodies of their deceased parents they replied that no sum could prevail on them to commit such a deed. In the presence of the same Greeks ... he sent also;
for the Callatiae, a people of Indiatheir parents.
He
asked them for what
burn the bodies of their parents.the question, and entreated
known to eat the bodies of sum they would consent to The Indians were disgusted atSinope,
him
to forbear such language " (Hero-
dotus
3,
38)
.
The Greeks mentioned may have come fromwasreadily accessibleas abhorrent to the"
since this city
from Babylon. This passageGreeks living inof thesepastoral
shows that cannibalism wasAsia asit
was
to those living in Europe.
(Indians) are other Indians, called Padae,life, live
To the east who lived a
on raw flesh and are said to observe these customs; if any man among them is diseased, his nearest connections put him The more aged among them are regularly killed to death " (Herodotus and eaten 3, 99). Megasthenes is quoted by Strabo as saying; " Men living in the Hindoo Koosh Mountains copulate " with women in public and eat the bodies of their relatives. .
.
(15, 32; cf. Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 6, 10; Plutarch,Virt. Alex. 328c;
De
Fort, aut
Herod.
1,
216). This
may have
influenced Cynic
shamelessness.
The
eating ofis
rawalso
butes to the Padae in India6,
which Herodotus attriattributed to Diogenes (D. L.flesh,is
Whether Water or Fire Eating of Flesh; Dio Chrysostom 6, 2534; Plutarch,
More Useful;29).
Ibid.
The
&
Diogenes was also connected with the idea of incest and the tragedy " Oedipus " attributed to him is said to have expressed approval of it (Philodemus, On the Stoics) Kurt von Fritz writes; " These two works (Thyestes and Oedipus) in one of which Diogenes defended cannibalism, while in the other he allowed incest and declared it to be natural must have been very unpleasant.
for the Stoics"
(Quellen Untersuchungen,as saying of
p.
56)."
ostom represents Diogeneslegal in
Oedipus;
Dio ChrysWhen he had
children by his mother, he should have concealed this or
made
it
Domestic fowls do not object to such relationships, nor dogs, nor any ass, nor do the Persians, although. . .
Thebes
48
The Sources of CynicismThe1,
they pass for the aristocracy of Asia " (10, 29-30).incest
idea of
seems to have come from Babylon
(D. L.
7;
Philo
Judaeus,
On
Special
Laws
3; Plutarch,6,
De
Fort, aut Virt. Alex.
328c; Eusebius, Praep. Evang.
10;
Sextus Empiricus, Pyrr.
Hipot.
was abhorrent to the Greeks, as is shown by 3, the Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles (cf. Xen. Mem. Soc. 4, 4, 20) The same ideas may have originated in Greece and India inde205).It
pendently, but in the case of Cynicism the similarities to Indian
philosophies were too numerous and too striking to be explainablein this
way and;
since inter-communication existed
it
appears more
than probable that some of the ideas of Cynicism came fromIndia. Indian philosophies
were suited to the country, the climate and the temperament of the people while Cynicism in Greece was a misfit and this is an additional reason for believing that it was borrowed from a foreign source. The supine acceptance of existing conditions without trying to improve them, as taught by the Cynics, was Oriental and not European. The Indian philosophers, Brahmans, Buddhists, Jains and others, were respected and honored. The general attitude of Greek public opinion toward the Cynics " dogs " and is indicated by the fact that the Cynics were called their philosophy " dogism." The Cynics were abused and persecuted, sometimes beaten and tortured, and Cynicism was condemned by Cicero, Lucian and other writers.Finally,
we must
take into account the opinion of the.. .
Emperorpracticed
Julian; "this
Even before HerculesIt
there were
men who
philosophy (Cynicism).
seems to be in some ways a uni-
versal philosophy
and the most natural and to demand no special study whatsoever " (6, 187) The Cynic quest of freedom involved.
a relaxation of the ordinary restraints of civilization, a repudiation
of obligations and a freeing of natural impulses.
Among
these
impulses are indolence, selfishness, greed, envy and jealousy.
human progress and cynicism human race. It is probable that the first man who shaped a stone hammer was jeered at by cynics who claimed that unshaped stones were better. The Cynics abused theCynics have opposed every step ofis
probably coeval with the
rich, scoffed at
the religious and learned and
condemned public
The Sources of Cynicismofficials;
49is
this
hatred of
all
forms of superiority
frequently
encountered today.
There are no Cynic ideas which are traceable to Antisthenes. He was a well known, loyal and respected Athenian citizen and a loyal follower of Socrates. He owned his home and sufficient property to provide him a living. His income was meager and he could have increased it by taking up some gainful occupation but he preferred to spend his time in study, teaching and writing. He was frugal, but no more so than Socrates and other Athenians. The growth of Cynicism in Greece was facilitated by political conditions. The exhaustion caused by the Peloponnesian Wars and the loss of sovereignty by the Greek states first to Macedonia and afterwards to Rome caused a general depression and pessimism in Greece. There was a loss of pride in their native states and a loss of interest in arts, sciences and literature. If Cynicism had
appearance in the time of Themistocles or of Pericles would have made little progress.its
made
it
We do not find in the
sayings and writings of Crates, Bion and
men and the emphasis on wisdom which was a distinguishing characteristic of the Cynics and which evidently belonged to a later period.Teles the claim of being wise
DIOGENES OF SINOPEDiogenes may have been an obscure vagrant of Corinth who gained publicity through a chance meeting with Alexander and subsequently acquired fame through being identified with an Athenian writer named Diogenes and with the hero of romances by Menippus and Eubulus, enhanced by the growth of an extensivelegend.
We have only three items of information in regard to him which can be classed as biographical. The only contemporary mention of Diogenes which we have is that of Aristotle, " TheDogcalled taverns the public tables (
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